WPI, Worcester Tech students to rebuild iconic Elm Park footbridge

Thursday

Oct 24, 2013 at 10:26 PMOct 24, 2013 at 10:52 PM

By Nick Kotsopoulos, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — A community-based effort involving students and staff from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Worcester Technical High School is underway to replace the iconic wooden footbridge in historic Elm Park.

The unique public-private partnership involves dismantling and moving the footbridge, which has been closed to the public because of structural problems, to Worcester Technical High School, where students will rebuild it with the goal of producing a replica of how it looked when it was originally built in the late 19th century.

Mayor Joseph M. Petty told the Historical Commission Thursday night that work on dismantling the bridge could begin as early as next week.

He said WPI students will do the bridge design and engineering, while students and staff at Worcester Technical High School will do all the milling and actual replication work, piece by piece, to replace the entire structure.

The mayor said WPI and Worcester Technical faculty and students will dedicate the entire academic year to the project.

The WPI team will consult with the Worcester Technical students and staff throughout all phases of the project. Also, WPI faculty who are professional engineers and architects will serve as advisers on the project.

City Manager Michael V. O'Brien said F.W. Madigan of Worcester will provide tactical crane and trailer assistance to move the bridge and its pieces to Worcester Technical High on Skyline Drive.

Mr. O'Brien has secured donations for the project through the Rotary Club of Worcester. He said the organization is "very excited" to be involved in the project.

"We could see a new footbridge in Elm Park as early as next year due to this exciting partnership between our technical high school, WPI, the Rotary Club of Worcester, the city and others," Mr. Petty told the Historical Commission. "This project will also serve as a civics lesson for our college and high school students as they work through all the city processes required."

Without the public-private partnership, the mayor said, it likely would have taken the city at least two or three years to assemble the $750,000 to $850,000 needed to fund the project and then go through the public bidding process.

Through this creative effort, Mr. Petty said, project costs will be reduced by an estimated 250,000.

The project will be subject to the review and approval of all appropriate city boards and commissions.

Members of a WPI project team — students Matthew Valcourt, Alexandra Jaeger, Matthew Steeves and Courtney Verdel-Ogden — made a presentation to the Historical Commission about the project.

They provided extensive details about the history of Elm Park and the footbridge, existing conditions of the bridge, plans to move it, its future design and a construction timeline.

They said they already have spent much time documenting bridge conditions at the site and doing a historical analysis of the park and structure.

"We will be looking to retain as much historical integrity as possible in the new design," Mr. Valcourt said. "Our job is to provide (design) options."

Timothy McCann, chairman of the Historical Commission, applauded the project and the partnership.

"This is a great project," Mr. McCann said. "(The footbridge) is such an important piece of one of the historic jewels of Worcester, that being Elm Park," Mr. McCann said. "This will also leverage the most important and best asset Worcester has, its young people. I am very excited about the collaboration between WPI and our technical high school."